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Hi,

I just bought a chevy pick-up truck 1946.
Because the old engine is broken an if it was in excellent condition it would'nt go anyways.
What is the most common (easy and cheap) way to go for a v8 engine and trans. I do not like automatic gearboxes.

Thanks

jan

350s are very easy to come by.Probably the cheapest too.should work very good with a 4 sp.and the right gearing.

Thanks ! What do you recommend as a powerplant, I like manual gearboxes. A camaro setup or so ??

In the US a small block Chevy is the most common and easy answer. That's a 265/283/302/307/327/350/400 made starting in 1955 and still available from GM.

Most V-8 powered Chevrolet's will have one of these motors. If not, they have a newer similar, but different motor, or they have the big block Chevy motor, which is a 396/402/427/454. My knowledge of the newer motors is limited to knowing the exist.

I assume you want to go with a car type 4-speed or 5-speed and not the truck type with a granny-gear first. You'll probably be best off buying front and rear crossmembers instead of trying to use the stock bellhousing mount.

A Camaro is likely to be a good source of the motor and trans you want, but not the only possible source.

Since you are in Europe I'd be tempted to consider some other motors. The Rover V-8 is based on a motor first built by General Motors for use in mid-size cars. They aren't hard to find around here, but might be easier to find than a Chevy in your corner of the world. Not as big as the typical Chevy, but in a small pickup should be capable of great performance.

One small block that wasn't mentioned, and is the most common Camaro engine from 1982 to 1992 is the Chevy 305. I believe it's a 265 bore with a 350's stroke. It's a fairly torquey motor with that long stroke, but it runs out of breath kind of fast. 5000 rpm is the typical redline.
Still, the manual tranny Camaros had the T5 5 speed. It has nice gear ratios, but cannot take any more torque than a 305 puts out. In other words, it won't live long behind a 350.

If you want to run a 350, there are some good transmissions. If you don't mind a 4-speed, then Muncie is a good choice. Perhaps the wide ratio Muncie, which has a 2.52 first gear. (The close ratio Muncies have a taller 2.20 first gear). If you get a Muncie, then get the Hurst shifter for it.
Another excellent transmission for a 350 is the Richmond 5-speed. Although it has a 1:1 5th (no overdrive), 1st gear is extremely steep for a car transmission. That translates into excellent torque multiplication. They are about as strong as a Muncie, so they should be good to around 450 lb-ft of torque or maybe a little more.
For either one of these options, be careful not to have too steep of a rear end gear. A 4.11 might be okay in a truck if you run tall truck tires. But if you're slamming the truck and planning on running car tires, something between a 3.36 and 3.73 would work the best.

If you're building a monster motor, it's harder to find transmissions that will live with over 500 lb-ft of torque. But one excellent choice would be the Tremec TKO top loader. 5th is an overdrive in this transmission, and last I checked, you can get them to handle 600+ lb-ft if you order the right one.
Or for a little less money, you could get an M-22 Rock Crusher Muncie, which can handle big block levels of torque.

By the way, Gear Vendors does offer an overdrive tail housing with 0.78 OD in every gear, for the truck SM-420 and SM-465 4-speed trannies. It costs about as much as a Richmond or Tremec, but you can still keep your super-granny gear and have overdrive on the highway too.

Hope that helps a little.

Dad is right, and since I have one I'm surprised I missed it! I also missed the rarely seen and never missed 267 which was a late 70's econo motor.

I also missed some of the combinations possible, like the 383 stroker motors that are real good in a pickup where you want lots of torque.

And there is the 262 small block V8 that was used in the 1975-76 Monza and a few Novas

i have a 385 stroker for my '59. (.040 over, 400 crank in a 350) i look forward to seeing what it will do when i get the truck back together.

i also have a 305 in need of a rebuild, for free for whoever wants it, with all accessory brackets.

actually, its bore is smaller then a 265s.

put in a better cam in one and it'll come alive. plenty of torque for the displacement

Thanks to you all,

Is there anywhere a sort of written guide(line)
to put one of these V8's in those 1946 chevy trucks.

Thanks,

Jan

Hey Piper

Check the tech links here. There is one on engine changes. Many companies make crossmember kits that bolt or weld in, or, if you want IFS, the kits include fairly universal engine mounts.

Good luck